A TRIBUTE TO CHRYSANTHEMUMS <br />Chrysanthemums are the easiest of perennials <br />to grow, <br />Plant them in early spring when you bid farewell <br />to winter’s snow! <br />They like the bright sun and resent ‘wet feet’, - <br />So grow them in dry soil, in a hole dug deep! <br />It is originally a native of the Eurasian region, - <br />Today there are hundreds of species flowering <br />in all seasons! <br />Cultivated in China as a flowering herb initially, - <br />There the city of Ju-Xian means ‘Chrysanthemum <br />City’! <br />Around 400 AD the ‘mum’ traveled with the <br />Buddhist monks to Japan, - <br />And the Emperor became the flower’s greatest <br />fan! <br />The Japanese called it ‘kikus’, and at the <br />Emperor’s behest, - <br />It got adopted on his Imperial Crest! <br />The Emperor sits on the Chrysanthemum Throne! <br />And the ‘Order of the Chrysanthemum’ in Japan, – <br />is the highest order known! ! <br />The ‘mums’ with deeply lobed leaves and large <br />flowering heads, - <br />Are now found in colors of white, yellow, pink <br />and red! <br />In a few European countries* the white species - <br />symbolizes sorrow and death; <br />But in USA this flower always brings good cheer <br />instead! <br /> -Raj Nandy <br /> 29 Mar 09 <br />(* In France, Poland & Croatia the white flower <br /> symbolizes death! 'Mums'= short form for <br /> the flower)<br /><br />RAJ NANDY<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-tribute-to-chrysanthemums/
